Thursday, December 31, 2015

"Violent Criminals are ALL Democrats" Ted Cruz stole that from me! Well, cribbed it from me. Sorta. I was just saying registered Democrats should be prohibited persons, maybe. Democrats or Democrat constituents.

So... My odd idea... To make the perma-outrage left half of the
country happy... Amend the 2nd Amendment making it not apply to those
murderous Leftists. We already have registry lists of Democrat voters.
Order all of them to turn their guns in. Or any other left of center
political party. MILLIONS fewer gun owners! Just like they want. By their
calculations, crime would go down, and it might. If a Democrat needs
protection they can always dial 911. The freedom loving side of America
will have a glut of surplus guns and ammo to perhaps buy up if they
want. It's win win!

And they can do that without having to go through the GOP control Congress, right now, this instant. They know if they are a Lefty in Possession.

If Felons all voted for GOP type the Republicans would be all about returning the franchise. But felons don't.

I guess a presidential candidate is allowed to observe what I observe.

Bayou Renaissance Man also noticed that the top 24 most murderous cities in the US are all run by... what party? Yes. And many, I bet, have been a straight unbroken string of Lefties Dems since before I was born.

Did a Millennial give you a lecture this past Thanksgiving on what a troglodyte you are for doubting Obama and not putting rainbows all over your Facebook this year and want to have a dinner argument about why Bernie Sanders is the future? I hope you checked your wallet. He probably tried to steal it...

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Well, have a lot of Open Carry types aired out cops? No. The threat to cops is not from them. At worst, a subset of OC folks have been douchenozzles. But those folks are a subject of ridicule, and not a threat vector for law enforcement. And folks do, indeed have the right to, among other things, be a douchenozzle.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

What does that have to do with guns? I had no idea until this last simulator session. Now that I know, there is plenty of discussion on line about it.

It's a way to transition for low ready to a close to the body yet 'safe' pistol position where a ND will not you but impacts about 6 inches in front of you toes. It also is good for retention. If you keep your elbow up and someone grabs your gun, if you pull way the gun shifts to a natural point at the grabber's center mass.

That guy doesn't have his elbow up. It was demonstrated to me what happened in a gun grabbing situation if you elbow is down. You are much more easily disarmed.

So why are you bring in the gun close you belly? Primarily to give you a chance to check your six o'clock without having to resort to putting your gat against your ear.

So, I am getting into so esoteric-ish gunfighting techniques. Previous sessions had more conventional stuff I was already familiar with. Low ready. Press out position. &c. But now this new concept.

---

Little tip about checking six... The instructor keeps a foam baseball bat for folks that don't do it and do it right. Give him too much time and he'll sneak up close behind you with it. You are supposed to react to him and that threat before he gets you. Which makes me fell REALLY weird because you are turning the gun 180 from down range and dealing with a person threat, not a target. Gotta beat that out of me. Be safe at the range but be ready to turn that conditioning off if it calls for it.

---

Aside: I have a bad habit of drawing a pistol back to the press-out position, or 'compressed ready'. It's a simulator, the pixels aren't real. I've been conditioned by video games and Hollywood that when a bad guys falls down that is it. Well, not completely conditioned. I still have the pistol in close but pointed at the threat. I am just not concentrating on the threat long enough.

Why? Sprinting rage zombie practice? Why shoot to the limit of trigger finger endurance? I don't have a pistol with a 250 round magazine. Nor would I carry ten 25 rounders...

Well, being so fatigued you can barely squeeze the trigger forces you to concentrate on grip and trigger squeeze form. Also: in a high stress environment with a massive adrenalin dump you can experience these symptoms of fatigue on the first shot.

For those that were in the military... Ever had to pass a PT test when the standard have been raised and everyone is watching and the DI is yelling at you? Yesterday you were fine, but that day your legs feel like rubber. Like you are running in jello. The next time, when it isn't on the line, you are back to normal? It's like that.

I bet shooting competition stress brings a little of that out of people, too. If you can shrug off the pressure you do better, right? But if you let the pressure get to you your adrenal gland acts up and you also tense up, working against yourself.

---

This training might not be ideal, for me or for everyone. But I think it is what I need right now. Hard to tell. What do I know what I 'need.' I begin to doubt myself. It is training, though, and I see improvements in there, and it's not that expensive so... I am continuing.

Average training is better than no training. And this seems, to me, like above average training.

Poor training might not be better than no training. Plus poor training can lead to racing stripe negligent discharges. Certainly no threat of that in a simulator. But I bet Sensei conducts live fire in a legitimate non-foolish manner.

Another Liberal agonizes, has lost faith in gov't, and then taken the responsible course and bought himself a handgun. (Responsible so far. I recommend follow up. Training, practice, familiarity with self defense laws, and going over scenarions.)

But part of the article has this:

"I’ve never fired a handgun. And I hope to God I never fire mine in
anger. The men and women we pay to carry guns and protect us rarely do
it, and those that do often miss, or accidentally shoot their colleagues
or innocent bystanders during the confusion of a gunbattle."

Now I criticize the police often enough. And one of those critcism is of the poor marksmanship of a subset of officers. Which I do from the safety of my living room while they are conducting themselves in an adrenaline flooded gun fight... But "often shoot colleagues and bystanders"? How true is that, really?

There is a lot of projection about this from the left. How CCW people will shoot up more innocent folks than bad guys. Oh? When has that happened? Lots of people get aired out by CCW holders. It'd make the news if it was innocent folks even a small number of times.

And then there is this: "If there was some CCW holder in that Aurora Colorado theater than shot back at the murderous madman it would have only have made things WORSE!" How? He murdered 12 people. How could shooting back at him have made it worse?

Oh, and get this. If you browse the Smith and Wesson website for products, and you ISP is in Maryland, they only show the Maryland-legal products. I gotta sneak across the border to know their full product line.

I'd have bought a bunch more brand new revolvers from you in the past 8 years if you hadn't put that little zit on there.

Of the plastic guns, I lean toward S&W M&P, and we can still get those in Maryland despite extra gun control laws. I never liked you factory trigger, or I'd have one already. But I really like the Apex drop in after market trigger. So I'll just get 2 pistols and 2 drop ins. It's even moving up higher on my 'to get' list. See? They actually made the Pimary section. There hasn't been a real new gun on the Primary for 4 years

AH. But wait. You wanna poop all over that and cause Apex a lot of trouble. A cease and desist letter? Because they make the trigger you SHOULD provide in every factory gun off the line? I swear to GAWD if you screw them over you have lost a customer for life. You've been stepping on rakes since the Clinton administration.

Put it simply... Hose over Apex, and I will settle for an XD.

I have 5 S&W products. I only bought the .22 new because... It's just a .22. I would have bought the others new but for bad decisions made at Corporate HQ. You left money on the table there. I got 2 plastic pistol purchase coming down the road... maybe another AR.... Guess where I might preclude myself from looking?

So disappointed.

Should I buy the Apex now in case they get yanked? No, I just won't bother with the M&P.

Are you happy S&W? You got me thinking, "Meh, I don't need to make another gun purchase..." Are you happy now?!

(Just buy Apex out and use their triggers in your guns, stock. Everyone is happy then.)

As a kid, submachine guns held a fascination for me, and others. It was the 80s. A time of Miami Vice, MAC10s and Uzis. Later, the MP9 was in all the Die-Hardian style Hollywood offerings. A resurgence of popular interest in WWII brought renewed attention to the Tommy Gun and the Greasegun. The MP40, too.

I always knew it would be a hassle to acquire one of my own. Even as a kid in the 80s I knew that. Some my covetous ardor was tempered from the start.

Then I became a gunnie.

The hassle isn't so much, anymore. Demystified. I'd be willing to jump through those hoops. (Which is arguably worse than the current State regulatory regime, but I mind it less because it was enacted long ago. Maryland's rules are fresh insult, and rankle more because of that.) Expense is more of a deterrent now, with sub guns, than red tape.

And I've had some limited experience actually shooting sub machine guns. Submachineguns. Both spellings are acceptable, I guess. Not a lot, but some.

Being a gunnie I've learned more details about more esoteric offerings in this breed. Like the various varieties of the 'Swedish K' and playing with a Sten, and Glock 18, and learning about the Reising

So now... It's not like familiarity breeds contempt. But it's like the itch is scratched. The mystery of my youth is gone. And it's not even the performance limitations that is souring any desire. It's like a motorcycle. I am glad they exist, I admire nicer examples, but it's just not for me.

Which feels odd.

But there was a time I'd never thought I'd own anything more than a revolver, really. Much less one and a spare. Like, I figured I'd never bother with a semi-automatic unless one was given to me.

But it's that other guy's birthday. Surprised we don't have some leftist holiday for him like we do Earth Day with his predecessor's birthday. Winter Holodomor Festival, or something. That's a funny word. Like 'Festivus' or 'Kwanza' or 'Christmahannakwanzakah.' Holodomor.

Remember that year Hitler was a good guy and how dare we and that Churchill guy oppose his will? Well no, you aren't supposed to remember when he and Stalin were buddies and ergo Hitler and the Western Left were buddies...

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Brack Obama may be the best gun salesman every, but people consider less often: he's the best booster of the NRA, too.

Every time there is a call for gun bans from on high folks I know are telling me, "yeah, I let my dues lapse but after that Oval Office speech I went ahead and bought 2 years worth of NRA dues." Or, "I've been meaning to join for a while so I signed myself up and my brother."

Not just the NRA, but any gun rights organization. I'm sure SAF and GOA et al. are doing better these days.

Wonder how the Brady coffers look when you don't count billionaire sugar daddy cash, if daddy deigns to pay?

I should ask JayG if he can divulge anything as long as I keep it off the record. Are peeps down at NRAHQ high fiving each other in the break rooms?

First I am a HUGE fan of the original eps, but they are 15 years gone now. Can they recapture that lightning in a bottle?

They got writers from Rick and Morty: Hooray
They got Patton Oswalt to play TV's Frank: Ick. 300,000,000 people on this planet and you pick him?
They got Felicia Day to play a mad scientist: Intriguing.

Lots of folks in on the original are not in on the reboot. This concerns me. But I'll try to keep an open mind. Joel is heading the project, but is not starring. That is probably a good decision.

Note that crime started to spike in the late 60s and then dropped in the early 90s. Like Baby Boomers were the criminals, then got too old to do crime. Way too simplistic an explanation, but still interesting to see the generational plateau in the graph.

Is it a generational trend? Or just a trend? One from folks seeing what resulted from gun control in the past and realizing that that road might not lead to where they want to be, public safety wise.

Every time there is a mass shooting in the past decade the Post-Brady gun banners try to exploit it and instead achieve the opposite of their goals, on net. They get less gun control and less support in public opinion.

Which is a longer trend, and why we can say 'Post-Brady' because Brady shrivelled away from disinterest since their peak 20 years ago.

They lose, we win. More guns are sold, more laws lifting regulation pass than laws restrciting guns, the needle moves towards freedom in the polls... It's almost like they are ANNOYING people into the arms of the 2nd Amendment camp. (Which is some doing, as we have our own annoying people, don't we?)

I'm wondering if they notice?

Maybe they'll learn.

You'll know they have learned when an event happens and they don't comment on it or thump the tub or whinge for gun bans. I suspect the money men will always work behind the scenes, but nothing flashing in the media for a cycle. Anti-gun propaganda is counter-productive, they can and could muzzle that propaganda.

Dunno if that side is smart enough to play the long game. Or even think beyond Stage One, most of em.

But for America, them hushing up might help tamp down copycat shooters. Which would be a good thing on the whole. Stop making those chumps famous, there might be fewer attracted to that line of work, making the world a better place.

Remember the Beltway Sniper? His first four victims were in my neighborhood. In a diamond pattern. This stabbing was near the north point on the diamond. The new locals are getting restless. No bars near any of the local crime scenes, but, this neighborhood doesn't really have bars and the peeps round here are more brown bag sidewalk drinkers anyway.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

I need to update the old Master List. The List of guns I want. It is List season after all!

Been a long time since I updated it and it has been a long time since I 'needed' anything right away. I have a few guns. There is no hurry to get more. I have my hats. I am at the stage of Gunny-dom where people know about it and steer unwanted firearms my way. Plus I am buying Frames for 1911. I have stripped lowers from before MD's gun control madness. I sort of HAVE 'guns' that aren't really guns.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Let's say America DID decide to ban guns. All guns. Repeal the 2nd Amendment and turn them in.

Bear with me.

Also, let's assume, that gunnies sort of had a change of heart. A whole slew of us are on board with this. Say 50% of us swing around on the issue. Sure there are still cantankerous gunnies that don't go along. There are just half as many in this fictional future. Instead of 2%ers they are 1%ers.

That would be a MASSIVE development. And millions of guns would be surrendered and destroyed. Bloomberg's dream

How many millions of guns AREN'T turned in? Not counting criminals are such that were never gonna turn anything in regardless. This is just guns in the hands of otherwise regular folks that simply won't comply there is just half as many of them as there are now.

It's still tens of millions of firearms. Maybe a hundred million? And impossibly large number for the authorities to deal with. And that much closer to a civil war.

What is the real expectation of the gun-banners? Or are they still unable to think beyond Stage 1? Probably.

Friday, December 4, 2015

Am I the only one that assumes that when there is a report from a mass shooting and it says the shooters had 'military style assault weapons' and 'BODY ARMOR' that the body armor is actually just a tactical vest with zero real protective advantages?

Make sense. The bad guys are on offense. They want to carry lots of reloads. They may want to carry a backup pistol, some other things. A tactical vest fulfills this. A bad guy may WANT the protection of a actual body armor, but body armor is less common to have to hand. Shooting more is higher on the priority list.

Now you can combine body armor with tactical pouches all over it, but, that still isn't my hunch. Plus the bad guy gunmen haven't been prior service door kicker types as yet. ANd may never be. So shooter that is drilled and trained to go with that rig hasn't been seen.

No, I think it is most likely that the tac vest are getting called body armor by ignorant types that are getting their information third hand and already dumbed down for Journalism majors.

---

Now, this brings up a problem. What to do in the beginning of something like a Zombacalypse. When things are melting down, panic is all about, but total breakdown hasn't occurred. Cops still patrol, the cell phones still work.... Stage 3 instead of full blown Stage 4 Zombocalypse. People like me or the readers of this blog might like the utility of a tactical vest for that self same ammo-toting ability. Tell the truth... you own one, don't you? If there were zombie 5 blocks away from you you'd be wearing it right now. But how do you display yourself in public? Panicky people see you, call 911, now the cops come and do target practice. It's another version of the "Shoot Me First" vest.

So, what is the solution? Some sort of Suburban Camouflage. A way to carry extra mags beyond the back hip pocket but not attract attention. Like eschewing actual cammy clothes and just wearing normal earth tones. You blend in in the woods, you blend in in the mall, you blend in on the subway. But brown pants and a green jacket still doesn't provide you with mag pouches.

Obviously, the situation isn't ideal. Lots of pockets on that jacket will hold a mag or two each (maybe just one, as 2 rattle together). They are loose and not super secure and easy access, but compromises have to be made so you don't get made, and aired out for being a terrist.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Just fine with turning folks on the Terror Watch List into prohibitted persons, unable to buy a gun, find out if they are on the list, or learn how to get off the list and their rights restored.

He is raised in NYC, lives in DC, but is married to an Alaskan. Still, little contact with firearms, so can be reflexively anti-gun while still being conservative.

The good news is he is open minded enough to state he is subject to persuasion the other way, and I believe him. Other columnists of the Metrocon Fortnightly are working on him. And he may modify his remarks further.

There might have been a time when I may have thought. "Aw heck, just do it, you'll probably be fine."

I've had many hours of gunsmith training. Now when I a pick up a Dremel I don't think that. I think "I'm gonna screw this up, I'm gonna screw this up, I'm gonna screw this up... There, screwed it up."

So why do people still go to the Dremel and then go for the Kleenex tissues because of all the tears? Because gunsmiths, real gunsmiths, use these little monsters. When used right they are fast and effective. But that so-called 'real' gunsmith has a lot more practice than you and ruined a lot more gun parts before getting to where he or she is. That's the difference.

My memory was it was a pistol-ized version of the M1 Carbine, but seeing it now I must have confused that picture in my head with the one of Patty Hearst.

Thinking, it occurred to me that having that rifle to hand would have been almost certainly a felony for him after the GCA of 1968, being an ex con and all. Depending on where he was it might have been illegal for him before 1968. And this is almost certainly before 1968, as he looks much younger than the year he died, here. Also, he died in 65.

Looks like two 30-rounder magazines taped together. And typical trigger discipline from that era. Doesn't matter who, if you are wearing a tie that skinny your finger is inside the trigger guard. You can set your watch by it.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Monday, November 30, 2015

Of mine doesn't like pistols or want an AR in his house. Like many Marines I know, they become half Hippie after leaving the Corps. They still LIKE shooting, but scary black rifles are too scary to keep around. He'll play with mine.

He has a shotfun for home defense. And WANTS a boltie in .308.

He got to try one of his buddies Mossberg bolt action in that chambering, and now this same individual is gonna sell the gun at a steal of a price.

Problem is? It doesn't work very well. But, from what they describe, it sound magazine related. And Mossberg says it will use a variety of magazines... So I am thinking that some magazine work better than others, and that he can get this rifle, find those magazines, and be happy with the purchase.

Friday, November 27, 2015

Wow, the new site design is really awful. Change is not always an improvement, ya know. The change will make me less likely to check on them, or only use them as a pass through to Instapundit. Now PJ Media looks like a dumbed down, crappier version of itself while trying to look like everyone else.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

I got an idea. Let's forbid all the people on the No-Fly Terrist Watchlist from buying a gun. Then delete all the names on the Watchlist.

I mean, apart from the gun stuff, what is the list doing? No one is going to use the tactic of taking over the airplane and crashing it into buildings again. That method didn't even work on all of September 11th. And now there are door and a tube full of people that know not to sit tight and just wait for the ordeal to end at Havana airport when the hijackers land and get off.

Feinstein Reid Schumer and Clinton all deserve to be yoked by tyranny as they wish to do to the rest of us.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Monday, November 23, 2015

As many of you already know... if you decide to have a go doing in one of them cowboy action shooting type organizations, a big part of the fun, apart for shooting 19th C type shootin' arns, is you dress up in costume and pick a persona name. An alias. A moniker. A name to go by.

It's like those Society for Creative Anachronism geeks playing at the Middle Ages, wearing arm and fighting sword battles with rattan poles for sword, but here you are shooting targets and it's the American Western Frontier, post war. You still need a name.

What sorta names should someone like me be looking at? If it has to be unique, I bet Thunderbolt is taken... Wait maybe not. There are variants, too, on that. If someone had T-Bolt, there is Tarnation and Thunderbutter. &c.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

So, the hunt today was in the 40s. Not bad. I had learned from previous ones. I need bigger boots and over shoes? Why? One more layer of wool socks. And ditch the military utility pants and get some wool so it is long johns, pants, insulated overalls. Then I think I am ready for the 20 degree drop tonite.

Saturday, November 21, 2015

"There isn't a terrorism problem! You have a greater chance of dying of infection from a paper cut! Let the Syrian 'refugees,' which seem to be composed mostly of military aged males, in."

"We have a HORRIBLE terrorism problem! We must ban anyone on the secret terrist watchlist from being allowed to own a gun, due process be damned!"

Well? We either have 800,000 people already here that are too dangerous to be allowed near a gas station, much less in a gunstore or on an airplane, or we can import hordes of folks from regions chockablock with murderous barbarians and their supporters and sympathizers, where they make up 90+% of the population. Which is it?

Keep in mind we are already struggling with immigration from friendlier neighbors but that are still bringing criminal elements along and are pressuring all wages down in this soft employment market.

Friday, November 20, 2015

I asked you folks what the co-worker moving to Pennsylvania should get for his ol' homestead once he is out of restrictive Maryland.

Because of you people, he is leaning Mossberg 590.

But, speaking of HQLs yesterday, before he goes, he is thinking of getting one. THAT way he can rent a firearm by his workplace here in Maryland. He's moving to the countryside. No ranges other than large expanses of the great outdoors. He could get the HQL in just a few short weeks, then cut ties with Maryland. The HQL is good for ten years, after...

One thing about the HQL Maryland now requires to buy a restricted gun (see: handguns) is that it also hurts the gun ranges that rent out pistols.

My local range didn't like to rent out a gun to someone that doesn't already have a gun with them. Folks were using the range to off themselves right there. It didn't happen often, but you don't need that sort of thing to happen very often to not want it to ever happen again. It's just a range rule. Like the common rule "Do NOT unholster loaded firearms" many guns stores have even in gun friendly states.

But the new Maryland reg means the rental range can't transfer a weapon for someone to shoot just at the range without the recipient also having the the little ID card saying it's kosher. I guess if I, with my one $100 HQL, could take a buddy to the rental range, and rent a series of guns for that person to test out to see what they like.

But it's a pain.

Hey, the gun grabbers saw how that was used to help kill the gun culture up in Massachusetts, might as well try it here.

I reviewed this interwar story before.Bulldog Drummond! DSO, MC, Captain the Loamshire Regiment. Four years fighting the Bosche. Having sought out and read a lot of pulp adventure stories from this era, I do notice they have the same... flavor? The writing style and rhythm and feel all match, from story to story, author to author.

To recap, Captain Bulldog Drummond is a semi wealthy but underemployed post war vet looking for adventure. He puts an ad in the newspaper seeking problems to solve, which he then jumps into with alacrity. He has former army chums to help him out at times, as well as a valet. A pretty damsel in distress answers his advertisement seeking help from this stranger.

I complained about his 'Automatic Revolver'

Then it hit me! Maybe it's a Fosbery monstrosity? That's definietly an automatic, and a revolver, and appropriate for the time period Kicking myself.

Save for the fact he calls it 'little', it could be the Fosbery... But my first impression was that the author and British Great War veteran just used the term 'revolver' for any handgun. And that initial instinct still sticks. In the book, he pockets the 'automatic revolver' and it seems to be concealable in the palm of Drummond's hand. These characteristics do not describe the Webley-Forsbery revolver, which is certainly full size.

He also calls it a 'Colt', too, so... A Little Colt Automatic Revolver. No confusing Colt and Webley, now. But I thought I was onto something with the Fosbery blind alley. Back to the drawing board. That'll teach me to eat pizza late and stay up reading in bed.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Why? Some dude want to change the constitution restricting you only 6 shot weapons. So revolver like he likes or gimp semis I guess. Sill git

And if the 2nd Amendment was, uh, amended, I doubt it would get more restrictive, as you seem to want, buddy. More likely it would be successfully amended so the more dense-Americans can understand. Dense like you, pal.

"The right to keep and carry and arms, to fight tyranny and defend yourself and the prepare to do either and for recreation, shall not be infringed" Maybe?

Much bigger percentage of voters would go for that than to tighten it up, friend.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Unacceptable failure rate. Horrible long lag time to even get the first round off. Multiple misfires per magazine. Thanks a lot, Armatix. Perfidus Germans...

I somehow doubt the Bloomberg own publication is fully above board with reports of failure rate of only 1 in 100,000 for the new smart magazine. A little self serving. I'd bet the maker could stand in front of us, and conduct the test with that magazine and get multiple failures to fire in the first couple hundred.

You know who gets shot the most by their own guns. Cops. Make cops accept these awful things, then come talk to us gunnies. What, the police won't have anything to do with them? Well, then, you have to convince them, now, doncha?

I DO like how the Jersey law requiring smartguns as soon as the technology is viable came around and bit the Leftists that passed it in the ass. Because of that law no major gun maker will touch smart gun development with a 10 foot pole. Hey, gun banners! Google "Unintended Consequences."

Friday, November 13, 2015

Now, the Fallout universe diverges from our own after the Enola Gay. In that universe, nuclear power is more developed, but they don't quite figure out transistors or microchips. The Cold War continues a pace, with China emerging as the stronger competitor to America. Then WWIII in 2077. The game takes place in the post apocalyptic world 200 years after that.

The non-laser stuff with the guns in game is either so primitive looking it would embarrass a zip gun makers. The sort of bullet thrower pipe guns you turn in for the $50 Gift Card when the police conduct a 'Gun Buy Back'. Or they are pristine looking Tommy Guns.

But the game also takes place in the Boston area, and you know Massachusetts gun laws...

Thursday, November 12, 2015

I'm clever with a lot of things but to really get to KNOW something... seems to take me longer than most folks. Slow head.

After the second or third class I came to the realization (and it was confirmed) that pretty much everything EVERYTHING is the instruction is to get the trigger pull right. Relax? That will help your trigger pull. Grip the gun like so? Helps the trigger pull. Don't hunch up the shoulders? Helps the trigger pull. Turn with your kneecaps, not your arms? Trigger pull.

But 'relax' is the big thing to help the trigger pull. He even adds layer up layer of stressors to overcome to push that 'relax' because with a real gun and nothing else, well you still have that jumping loud explosion in your hand and that is stressful by itself. How to add stress? The usual. Loud music, noises, having to do shoot-no-shoot generic targets, photo realistic target where a target is a man that has a gun or has a badge. And the gun and badge look almost the same...

But I am not there yet. So I signed up for more sessions. After a body gets good with the sessions he takes you to a real range for some live fire training.

Yeah, it's shooter kindergarten. But I need shooter kindergarten.

What do I want? I want to be a Great World Class Shooter. Top of the world. I want people to be depressed when they hear I am coming to a shooting competition. Am I, realistically, gonna get there? No. But I will settle for getting to be a 'better' shooter. And, with a little luck and work and practice maybe I will get to 'much better' shooter.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

I often mention old time family member on this day, in marking this day. But you know what? My brother is a Veteran. A real one. Not like me. My veteran state is conferred on me by having worn a uniform and watched the first Gulf War on TV.

Commander T-Bolt (he is still in the Navy, past pension age too, just biding his time until the next the assignment and then will retire at the end of that) is what we'll call him, through in with the, duh, Navy in the early 90s. His bigger, uglier, brother (me) was in ROTC, and Lil-Bolt had done that sort of stuff in High School JROTC, so why not? He was better at Calculus than me so he even got the full ride scholarship. I graduated from Virginia Tech, reported to the Naval Air Schools Command right as we won the Cold War, washed out of flight school, and was able to swear HIM in before getting mustered out myself. He was a Supply Officer, and got a submarine billet, and, able to stick, where I, forever an Ensign, could not.

Then he kept going. Submarines. Then the Abraham Lincoln.

9/11 happened.

And EVERYBODY got sent to the sandbox eventually. Including Navy Pork Chops like him. Land billets. Not safe ships. He was smart and never left the FOB in Diwaniya (or however that is spelled... Iraq... where the sand is. And the sun is only a few hundred yards overhead.) This was in 2006, so the bad guys were actively lobbing stuff in. But these bad guy were incompetent and rarely hit anything they were aiming at. So he gets to spend a buncha nights ducked down in a cement culvert/bunker to keep from getting unlucky. Because how was he to know if they were aiming at him, and thus he was safe, or aiming at something far away and thus he was in great great danger.

Being the supply officer he was also in charge of getting rid of trash. But there was NO contractor or local able to haul off medical waste, so the pile kept on getting bigger with no solution in sight. This problem was solved for him by the bad guys when a direct mortar hit caught the pile of trash on fire. Yay.

And you know... He got shot at more than any other relative of ours I know of besides my mothers father, whom the Japanese machine gunned on Peleliu. We got some relatives that were in New York regiments in the Civil War. Dunno how much they got shot at, as there is no family stories for that. Another from that era server under Farragut. I guess he got shot at some.

The only other known direct antecedent was Great Great Great Great Grandpa T-Bolt (same last name) that was just a southern Bavarian dairyman and cheesemaker that got sucked up by conscription and had to walk to Moscow and back with some short French dude. So he prolly got shot at.

Dad was out of the Air Force just before the Berlin Wall went up. His brother was a hair too young for Korea. Their dad, Paw Paw, was another Supply Officer in WWII. Too only to carry a rifle and his vision was wretched. Stayed in Jersey for the duration and after ended up a Major. I don't know of any others about that served.... But it's a smallish family.

No, my brother has 'seen' the most 'action' in any living memory of our family. He probably has to work today.

Book review time. Continuing my WWI kick, this series was written by a British Officer. Hollywood B-movies (Ray Milland!) were made of the tales, with an American slant, and other earlier films and plays. Quite popular in the interwar years. Gentleman and valet solve crimes. That sort of thing.

Gun content. The gentleman carries a small Colt revolver. Also referred to as an automatic. The description makes me think it is actually something like the good ol Pocket Hammerless in .32 or .380. Maybe a Vest Pocket, even.

But the point... A British Army officer and author after years of war still mixes the terms revolver and automatic. I'm beginning think there was a time it was acceptable to call any pistol a 'revolver', whether it had a rotating cylinder or not. That no one in the 20's was bothered if you called an M1911A1 a "Colt 45 revolver automatic". Nomenclature being inexact and interchangeable. At least on this. Revolver = Any Handgun. I keep noticing it everywhere in old stuff. Just like we notice the clip/magazine stuff. And even Glock Service Revolvers that all the police carry and journalist write about.

I've been pricing parts. Just parts. Getting higher end parts with the store discount that's about $675. Not including the slide and barrel and frame and any magazines. Slide is $267, retail, barrel will be about $200 I bet, and the frame is $222.

Labor is free. Because is it me. Unless you count the class tuition, which is $800 for this class, plus the pre-reqs of the Advanced class, Intermediate ($300) class, and Basic ($175) class before this. It's $2500 to take the Larry Vickers class, tho, so I come out slightly ahead, here. And I already have the tooling, but that cost big money.

Phew.

So, subtotal of just this class and gun parts is north of $2500.

You see where custom 1911s get their prices? And, again, just the high end parts for an ordinary, functional, Government model without any bells and whistles is $1700. If you want checkering on the grip of that frame, that's an add on. Different serration on the slide? More. Maybe if you were going to make a professional go of it and sell homemade guns and you go the manufacturer discount and bought in bulk... It's still hard to get the good parts down below a kilobuck.

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All for a gun that shoots as well with fewer bullets as a S&W M&P .45. And only costs $600. Holy damn, what have I done? This is a sickness I have. Never look too close at the money. Just have fun with it and pay the bills with your eyes squinted up for a few months.

Sunday, November 8, 2015

A buddy at work is moving to Pennsylvania, just over the line. His commute will be more than 50 miles, but his place is in some beautiful country. Good deer hunting on his acreage. The only gun he owns is a Remington 700, so... Good there.

But now that he is in a free state and he allowed to buy a gun what should he get?

Friday, November 6, 2015

We get letters... We get letters every day.... Ding dong! Here's you mail today!

When blogs were big, I got few emails from folks. The ones I did get wanted product reviews and I enthusiastically said yes to that, but then nothing was ever sent to me for review...

Now that blogs are dying I am getting more, for some reason.

Lucky Gunner wanted me to know about their new feature. They are posting pics of ballistic gelatin results for a whole bunch of ammo brands and varieties. He referenced an actual blog post about the Manhattanite that thinks a few liberals can join the NRA and take it over, so he ACTUALLY read my blog. He has no idea I am an occasional customer, tho, as I use a name other than "T-Bolt" to BUY ammo. I bought a bunch of .45 Federal HST and Gold Dot .38 from there, last time, I am pretty sure. Relegating my Hydro-Shocka-Locka to practice ammo.

AmmoToGo wants me to get their free ammo and take a picture of a new shooter enjoying themselves shooting it. Well, you get the ammo AFTER the publicity is sent to AmmoToGo. And the ammo is 9mm... So he doesn't read my blog.

And Blaser keeps asking me over and over if I can see their new website. No. I cannot. It's on tumblr and I try to avoid tumblr if at all possible. Blaser, when I looked before, has interesting high end thunber-boomers.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

So, Ted Cruz got criticized for holding his break-open broken open on his shoulder on social media. And then people attacked the criticizers saying that is a perfectly acceptable way of carrying that kind of scattergun afield. Back forth, back forth, frothy social media poop-storm, yay.

I'd like to see more candidates for office shoot something other than high end fowling pieces more often. Only Palin bothered. It'd be nice to see a future president shoot a bowling pin off a table and smile while doing it, for instance.

I mean even a gun banner like John Kerry will pretend and put on blaze orange and pocket some #7 shot shells.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Meh. The criteria they used is fine I am just dumbfounded by the cities that rated well.

The criteria were defensibility, access to food resources over time, and having the best possibility of developing a cure.

So this is community survival. Not lone wolf survival. They seem to be looking for a city that can survive intact. A metropolis that is an island in a sea of Zed.

And a city can score high in one criteria and that can boost its ranks. Hence, Boston scores well because of sea access, maybe? But more from intellectual capital for finding a cure. And it is hard to feed yourself in Manhattan with all those other mouths about. But Utah scores very high on defensibility.

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Baltimore harbor collects a lotta trash, as harbors tend to do. And anything but a west wind is going to keep that flotsam and/or jetsam in place. An eyesore at the city's primo tourist destination. So they have an automated skimmer that works like a Roomba slowly hoovering it all up.

Friday, October 30, 2015

So the liberal voice on the university radio station just told me, "The majority of gun owners are white and male..." They then went on with the man bites dog story about how this one DC suburb bucks the demographic trends.

But that isn't news. The white part. It's true, yes, but not abnormal. If you grab a huge portion of average Americans you can safely say the majority is white. It's what you'd expect, inside expected parameter for 2015. What is outside the norm is the male part, as there are slightly more women than men about.

I think that prefatory statement was just word jumble to fill the time. Maybe some liberal virtue signalling.

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Also: Good that an NPR station has at least a semi-positive gunnie story in suburban DC! I didn't stay tuned in to find out what was the demographic feature they found unusual to be enjoying the shooting sports or self defense practice. Women? African Americans? A group of Guatemalan immigrants? Blind people?

Ok, the gun-banners want universal background checks on all gun sales, even private ones. They also insist their only concern is improving gun safety with common sense gun regulations and are certainly NOT for banning and confiscating all guns and you are a knuckle dragging trogolodyte with a small wiener for even THINKING such a thing. Let's call this group of folks Bloomberg after their biggest booster. (we could call them 'Liars' and much much worse, but we will keep it civil)

We, in the gun community, lets call us the NRA after our biggest entity for lack of another term, have been at this game a long time. The NRA has compromised in the past but the compromise all seems to go one way. Agin us. When gun bannage is called for it is always the NRA that has to claw back some ground. If the NRA gets gun friendly legislation passed later it never quite makes up for what we lost. Except maybe for the sea change in Shall Issue. So the NRA is wary, to say the least.

Anyway, so there is a motion on the floor, universal background checks, how should the NRA respond in a legislative judo type way, where it looks like the NRA compromises, but actually gains much more than they lose? Use out opponent's weight against him.

As soon as the the NRA says yes to universal background checks the clamor from their own side will be deafening, so this so called compromise better be good... If you want to win them over and get them on the same page.

Ok, why would our side be upset about universal background checks? Lots of reasons. It's a hassle, to start. You are never going to get the people that type SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED!!!1!!eleven in all caps, as you don't need permission to vote... but most gunnies are on board to prohibiting the sale of a pistol to paroled felon that did time for murder. Our real problem is that a universal background check can mean universal tracking of every sale. A simple matter to turn that tracking into a universal gun registry. And a registry is required to conduct a universal confiscation. And THAT is our biggest bugaboo. Registration historically leads to Confiscation.

So how do you square the circle?

Remove references to serial numbers from the background check process. I've advocated about this before.

Now the NRA GAINS something in a compromise. Serial numbers are in the FFL log book, just like now, on gunstore sales. So the criminal investigation side doesn't gain or lose anything new. FFLs that perform the checks still get their fee for running it for a customer that wants to do an individual private sale. The gummint has a record that T-Bolt ran a check on himself on such and such a date, and, let's say, that permission slip is good for a month. T-Bolts long lost Uncle that sold him the gun can feel confident that T-Bolt is permitted to receive the boomstick.

Probably will have to have a check box on gun type. Until we can sell pistols, &c., across state lines. Maybe make that legal in this Universal Background Check Bill. So, at any rate,n if not changed, Uncle in Kentucky can sell the .30-30 rifle to T-Bolt via this system, but would still have to do a FFL dealer to dealer transfer for the war bringback M1917 S&W revolver.

So, what happens if T-Bolt goes rogue and becomes a felon a year later? The gummint has a record that I at least sought permission to receive a firearm. So now the po-po has grounds to issue a warrant and confiscate my firearms now that I am a prohibited person. Just like now.

So, Bloomberg gets his Universal Checks, the NRA gets it's gun rights protection, and we have a compromise! There is the win-win gains, and nothing is lost via anyone's stated desires.

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But it's not that simple, is it? Bloomberg would HOWL. He doesn't really care about the background check. He wants the eventual registry. So he will oppose this bill whole hog, but make up other reasons to declare it unacceptable beside the 'we can't make a confiscation registry out of THIS!'. He can't state that desire as when its worded that way he can never get any votes to pass anything.

NRA would HOWL. Or at least the 6 million dues paying members and 10's of millions more in the gunnie community that care about this and understand this. Because once you open the door to any gun-control sausage making in the legislature who know what will pop out the other end of this beast in a bill heading to the executive to sign or veto. You get things like the Hughes Amendment of '86 when you open this door.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

One of the perks of being a gun blogger, still? I get the opportunity to shoot other people's guns at blog shoots, which can be hella fun. I dunno if I'd ever have had the chance to shoot a brown bess and a .50 and a martini-henry and a drilling otherwise.

I have been truly fortunate, because I find it fascinating.

I'm not a collector of things. But I do have the collector urge in me. Deep down. I have to suppress it. As a kid it was seashells and pennies, later I almost fell into the antique woodworking tool trap... Guns, of course, is a parallel. When I do have the urge to collect I don't want ever different possible variation of the Model 10 including limited editions, nor do I want new in box museum quality items. I am more of the 'gimme one of each type' and not get wrapped up in the condition or variants.

Instead of actually owning one of each, I am more than happy to try shooting one of each at least once. And I am not crazy about it. I have passed up shooting an Arisaka at least once.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

He still likes the old canard that the NRA is in the pocket of the gun industry. That the NRA exists to sell guns. Like the gun industry is some huge monolithic cartel with trillions in sales. Hey Marty, do you think and O'Malley administration will see more guns sold compared to, say, a Carson administration? Yeah...

Meanwhile, the liberal Baltimore newspaper conceded that guns are here to stay. Glad they recognize that. But there is a lot spewed nonsense in that piece. For instance:

"When a group of young women at the University of Texas proposed to carry
dildos openly on campus to protest a law allowing guns on campus, the
proponents of this joke met with a storm of abuse, including death
threats. Apparently the Y chromosome cannot bear to be mocked."

Liberal reporters never seem to see the death threats coming from the other direction. And when Socialists talk about killings, I take notice. Due to their history for the past century.

Monday, October 26, 2015

Good stuff. Dips into the more paranoid side of 'Our Team' but that's ok.

I was thinking. Fedgoons, as he likes to call them. We saw that. New Orleans and Boston after the Marathon. They had to import so called 'goons' as there were not enough locally. And to do a nationwide house to house search for all 300,000,000 firearms, assuming you get law enforcement and the national guard to sign off on doing such a thing (and they might not...), will take longer than a week. Folks will notice. Not just poor people in New Orleans that couldn't get out of the city or Bostonians long divorced from firearm familiarity and more citified and placid in the face of authority. And the so called 'goons' had an exterior excuse.

Hard to maintain an excuse and do enough in time to get full forcible confiscation before people start to think and assemble and whatnot. The so called 'goons' can't even round up cows in a remote ranch area without attracting attention from people that don't find that popular.

I don't think the State in competent or pervasive enough with willing participants on their side to get away with shenanigans outside of smallish area without a significant response.

Anyway, I need to re-read that for the good BOB nuggets. Maybe another post if I think of something interesting.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Here is me with two of Lagniappe's Lair guns. Sadly, the Tommy gun was feeling under the weather, so I didn't get a chance with that. But these are condolence guns.

A Martini Henry. I am holding a case. He has to make them from all brass 20 gauge shells necked down. Black powder, of course. It packs a bit of a wallop.

"It's the Zulus, T-Bolt. Thousands of them."

"Oh, bother."

And this a lever action Ruger .44 Special with an integral suppressor. I just giggle when I shoot something that big that quietly.

I had never fired either of those kinds of guns before, so... victory. I also tested my new AR trigger in one of my dozens of preban AR15s. Yup. Always had them. So the state of Maryland can relax about that.

Friday, October 23, 2015

A guy at the firearm blog spent a lotta money to do a custom 1911 build, and wrote a review of the experience. Like I am doing! But his is with Larry Vickers. Heck, even I recognize that name. He's famous.

But the experience didn't live up to the expectation. Oh sure, he made a gun, and it wasn't a disaster, but it sounds like it could've been a better week.

Is Larry a gunsmith or a shooter? I'm sure he is both, but I also am pretty sure he is a shooter first. It's a shame Larry wasn't as attentive as he could have been. And Sam is a gunsmith first, shooting instructor second. I found Sam attentive enough.

I'm spending a lotta money, but not THAT lotta. And I doubt I'd have advanced beyond intermediate if Larry Vickers was teaching the class. It appears to stress independent learning, and I am a bit of a slow head.

A Palestianian rams a bus stop full of people with his cars. Gets out of his car and goes to town chopping at the wounded like Paul Bunyon, killing more folks. Just awful

A gun toter of some flavor arrives on the scene and engages the assailant. This is inside of 10 seconds. Two people have been chopped of before someone engages back. In ten seconds. Good thing this wasn't New York or LA. You'd have to wait for the cops. Minutes away.

The terrist has a lot of fight in him, charging a man with a pistol. We can't hear anything so there is no notion of how many rounds are fired at the bad guy but some connect because he collapse to the ground and writes in pain. But the fight is not out of him. He throws the knife at the shooter! It even bounces of the fence next to the shooter and close to the terrist. The shooter has to kick it farther away, holding his pistol on the bad guy. Other help arrives at the scene of chaos. There is quick negotiation with the new arrivals "are you a good guy or bad guy?" The shot up terrorist STILL has enough gas in his tank to get up and try to flee. Looks like he takes another round in this scuffle and goes down, then gets up and maybe takes another round and goes down, doesn't go any further.

Lessons for Joe Schmoes.

Shoot to stop. If the bad guy is throwing knives at you you didn't stop him enough.

The whole 9mm v. .45 argument reared its head in some discussions. And that leads to the 'all pistol calibers suck' argument. 8 rounds of .45, or 18 rounds of 9mm or 5 rounds of .38... Get hits, repeat until the threat is stopped. Reload if you have to.

Getting hits is easier said than done when you are adrenaline amped to 200 heartbeats a minute. And you only have so much spare ammo on you.

What if there were 3 guys in that car as motivated as our single bad guy? Then this pistol toter was gonna get some hits in and get overwhelmed. Doesn't matter his caliber or magazine capacity.

So, what lessons are there for use armchair quarterbacks? "Be calm, and get good shot placement and have enough reloads," is easier said than done. Run away? Sometimes that is not an option. But if toter had been hit in the femoral artery with that knife throw then hindsight suggests he should had done that. Only a few more strangers would have been killed, maybe. But he didn't. And you might not have in that situation. And thank God for people that intervene like this, but, sometimes it won't turn out ok for that volunteer.

It's a bad scene all around. But you may want to think through such things for you, in case fate puts you in such a place

Good Advice

"You never select a shotgun as your primary anti-zombie firearm. It's great for onesy twosey, but zombies travel in hordes. The reload time is onerous, and the ammo, while effective, is heavy and bulky and short ranged."

Big Mistake for Her

If Ginsberg had let Scalia put the words "strict scrutiny" in Heller and Hillary said "Gun control is just not going to be a priority for my administration," Hillary would have been elected President.

About Me

Preamble

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.